Rock Hill, S.C. - The High Point University Panthers will travel to play Furman University for the first game of the regular season Monday night. This matchup will take place in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon at neutral site Rock Hill Sports & Events Center. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.
 
Men's Basketball - Furman University
Monday, November  1 | 6:30 p.m. | Rock Hill, S.C | Rock Hill Sports & Events Center
Watch Live YouTube | LiveStats
 
Records: High Point 0-0, Furman 0-0
Last Meeting: December 6, 2022 | Result: HPU won 85-82
All-Time Record: Furman leads 3-1
 
The Matchup
High Point and Furman have not played for three years, but the matchup is set to be an instant classic. High Point's largest margin of victory was when they beat Furman by 3 points to secure the team's first win against Furman ever. The first-ever meeting between the teams dates back to December 20, 2003. Since then, High Point has been able to keep each matchup below 11 points in scoring differential. 

During the 2024-25 season, Furman was an NIT appearance team that posted a 25-10 overall record and an 11-7 record in SoCon play. Cooper Bowser returns for the 2025-26 season and was named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Team, along with Florida State transfer Tom House. A year ago Bowser averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game with the Paladins and House contributed 7.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game with the Seminoles. Furman was picked second in the preseason polls.
 
Last time out
The Panthers hosted North Carolina A&T State University in an exhibition game on Saturday, October 25th. The Panthers comfortably defeated the Bulldogs 88-60. High Point was led by Cam'Ron Fletcher, who had 17 points and nine rebounds while Owen Aquino and Rob Martin each tagged double-figures. The Panthers shared the ball well, dishing out 19 assists as a team. A large contributor to HPU's success was the defense, which became visible from the 15 forced turnovers on the Aggies while the Panthers only committed six. Strong on the rebound, High Point picked up 48 rebounds to NC A&T's 40.

Notable Player & Team Notes
 
2024-25 Historic Season
High Point made history during the 2024-25 season by winning its first-ever Big South Tournament title and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. HPU finished with an overall record of 29-6, which tied for the most wins in Big South program history (Winthrop, 2006-07) and the most wins in HPU program history. The Panthers finished the regular season with a 26-5 record and a 14-2 league record. The 26 regular-season wins is the most in program history and tied the Big South regular-season wins record with Coastal Carolina's 2010-11 season (26-4). High Point's offense finished 3rd in the NCAA in KenPom rankings for raw offensive efficiency, trailing only Duke and Gonzaga, and were ahead of 2025 NCAA National Champion Florida.

Continuing Success After Change 
Coming off the most successful season ever for the Panthers after making it to March Madness the team's energy has never been higher. The energy for this season all stems with the new first-year Head Coach Flynn Clayman who was appointed in April of 2025 after serving as the Associate Head Coach under Alan Huss last season. 

Preseason Awards
High Point was picked again as the number one-ranked team in the Big South Preseason Poll for the second consecutive season and the fifth time in program history (2007-08, 2013-14, 2015-16, 2024-25, 2025-26). Rob Martin and Scotty Washington were picked to be on the First Team All-Conference as well. In the Blue Ribbon Forcast HPU was picked preseason No. 1 and Martin was selected as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year. In two other preseason polls, High Point was picked fourth in the Field of 68 Mid-Major poll and eighth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25® poll. Since cracking the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25® on December 26, 2023, High Point has remained in the top 25 for 36 consecutive weeks. The highest ranking that HPU received in program history was No. 5 on February 5, 2024.
 
Notable Transfers, Returning Players, and New Freshman
This season, the Panthers have a totally new squad and lineup looking to continue the standard of success they have created after making a tournament appearance. There are eight transfers that have made High Point their new home. Cam'ron Fletcher, a graduate student who has played at Kentucky, Florida State and Xavier, is bringing experienced veteran leadership to the team. He has already won a transfer award back in 2021-2022 as the ACC Impact Transfer per CBS Sports. Rob Martin who started at Indiana State and then Southeastern Missouri State University, is a senior who also brings some veteran leadership and was named to the Big South Preseason First-Team All-Conference selection. Another leader for the Panthers is Owen Aquino, who is coming to HPU after playing at Eastern Florida State and Liberty, a team that also won its league title and made the 2024-25 NCAA Tournament. Aquino a native of Spain, shares the court alongside Spain native Conrad Martinez, who spent his first two seasons at the University of Arizona. Scotty Washington is a senior transfer that played for CBU and CSUN, where he grabbed a 2024-2025 All-Big West Honorable Mention and was named to the Big South First-Team All-Conference selection. Vincent Brady II and Youssouf Singare are the last two transfers for the Panthers that also help strengthen the new identity and gameplan that the Panthers have for this season. Singare transferred from the University of Connecticut and Brady II joins the Panthers from Missouri State Unviersity.